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Video from my Twitch Stream on December 7th talking about all these changes.

I have been talking about these changes today on Twitch, and in other places. Above is a link the highlighted portion of my stream where we went in depth into the changes coming in January and how they will hurt the following the folks:

  • Smaller creators
  • Folks who support a lot of people at $1, $3 and such.
  • International creators
  • Folks how have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax)

Long story short? This a bullshit change that will hurt folks supporting a lot of patrons at the $1 level; since it will now cost you $1.43 in USD to actually support each creator, per pledge. So let’s say you have a total of $20 in $1 pledges. Now you will actually be paying $24.30 and that’s if you only have to pay out in USD.

Let’s not forget int’l supporters of US creators have to deal with currency conversion, VAT which adds another $.23 cents so it will be nearly $2 for an int’l patron to keep supporting each person they support at the $1 level.

These changes don’t seem to hit as much if you are supporting people at a higher level. Such as someone supporting at the $5 level will only see an additional 50 cent increase, etc. They may as well have eliminated the $1 tier and called it done for what it will do to smaller folks; or for those folks like myself who have a majority of supporters at a $1, $3 or other tier.

It’s bullshit and they aren’t even giving creators an option to absorb the cost and keep it from you all. I’m not happy with this as it was sprung on creators with no notice and there was the expectation we’d soften the blow to our supporters.

I won’t do that to you, sell you a corporate line about how this is in everyone’s best interest. It’s not, straight up. So, if you can’t support here I get it and I understand entirely since this is a hurtful move for smaller creators, international creators who have to deal with currency rates along with VAT and folks who support a bunch of people at a $1 – $5 level.

I’ve gotten a bunch of pings, DM’s etc on what I’m going to do or other ways in which folks can support. Thank you all so much for reaching out. here’s how to continue to support my work elsewhere:

Thanks for all the support and I hope Patreon sees the damage they are doing to small creators & rolls back some of these things or gives us options to mitigate the losses that will come from people having to drop their support due to the cost.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.